Hundreds of Bedfordshire children strip searched over past three years

The Children's Society said unnecessary and invasive searches of young people must end and called for more police training.

A Freedom of Information request by RADAR shows Bedfordshire Police carried out 231 strip searches on under 18-year-olds in custody and under stop and search powers in the three years to March. This included 98 searches last year.

Strip searching does not necessarily denote nudity or exposure of intimate body parts, though it can do, and it ranges from the removal of a shirt to the removal of all clothing.

Bedfordshire Police say that they follow strict guidelines to ensure strip searches take place in private, are not recorded and are carried out with sensitivity.

Across the 34 police forces that provided data in England and Wales, over 5,600 strip searches were carried out on children in the past three years. About 1,850 of these were in 2023-24.

None of the strip searches were carried out on children under the age of 10.

Mark Russell, chief executive of the Children's Society, said: "Strip searches of children are distressing, traumatic, and should be used only as a last resort and always with a trusted adult present."

Earlier this year, the IOPC made recommendations to improve how strip-searching of children is conducted. This included requiring police forces to make mandatory safeguarding referrals for any child subject to an "exposure of intimate parts" search.

Overall, the figures show a total of 2,446 strip searches were carried out across all age groups in Bedfordshire since 2021-22. It means children accounted for nine per cent of searches in the area.

Bedfordshire Police received three complaints about strip searches in recent years.

Custody Chief Inspector Jenni McIntyre-Smith said: “A strip search is recorded for a search involving the removal of any piece of clothing, including outer clothing such as a coat. It is also recorded when swapping out clothing which could cause harm to a detainee, though no actual search takes place.

“We will only conduct a strip search that involves removing more than outer clothing if we have reasonable belief that they have concealed an item or if there are safeguarding concerns. In the last 12 months, these have included the locating of concealed drugs or items intended to self-harm.”

She added: “All our strip searches are monitored, and we apply additional scrutiny to those subjects who are under 18. Strip searches are reviewed to ensure compliance and are also shared with our Independent Custody Visitor scrutiny panels for independent review. We welcome this additional scrutiny to ensure that we are policing with the utmost care and professionalism, especially when it comes to young people.”

A Home Office spokesperson said strip search is one of the "most intrusive powers" available to the police.

They added: "Any use of strip search should be fair, proportionate and carried out with full regard for the dignity of the person being searched, especially children. Whilst there have been improvements, it is clear standards are not always being followed as they should.

"The Government has committed to introducing new safeguards for strip-searching children and young people in its manifesto."